PRESS RELEASE

 

Eindhoven (NL), November 2025

 

Prize for system designer, inventor, connector and inspiring mentor

 

During the 24th edition of the Precision Fair, held in Den Bosch (NL), the Ir. A. Davidson Award 2025 was presented to André Ramos, senior researcher at ASML in Veldhoven (NL). He received the prize for his clarity in first-principles thinking, his track record of practical invention, his leadership in cross-disciplinary collaboration, and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineers. “He trains others in methods, not just solutions, which multiplies his impact across teams and institutions.”

DSPE presented the Ir. A. Davidson Award to André Ramos on the afternoon of Wednesday, 12 November. The purpose of the prize is to encourage young talent by recognising the efforts of a precision engineer who has been working for several years at a company or institute, and has a proven performance record that has been acknowledged both internally and externally. The candidates must also demonstrate an enthusiasm for their field that results in a positive effect on their colleagues. The biennial prize, established in 2005 and now presented for the tenth time, is named after an authority in the field of precision mechanics who worked at Philips in the 1950s and 1960s. The prize comes with a certificate, a trophy and a sum of money sponsored by DSPE. The trophy is created by the Leidse instrumentmakers School and is designed in the form of Davidson’s handbook series on precision mechanics that he used as a foundation when forming the constructors’ community at Philips

From hands-on tooling to system-level design

This year, the jury, chaired by Willem Tielemans, R&D manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, received multiple strong nominations for the Ir. A. Davidson Award. The choice ultimately fell on André Ramos, who obtained his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Porto (Portugal) and subsequently started as a tooling engineer at ASML in 2018. He quickly moved from manufacturing and service tooling to wafer clamping design, growing towards the role of lead designer. According to the jury, that progression – from hands-on tooling to system-level design – characterises an engineer who understands both how things are built and how they must perform.

Building from first principles

What set outs Ramos is his method, the jury observes. “He builds from first principles: elementary physics and clear, multiphysical reasoning guide his designs. Rather than starting from existing templates, he uses fast, physics-based analysis early in the design cycle to point the design team towards breakthrough choices. Those quick, principled sketches reduce uncertainty, focus creativity, and often lead to simpler, more robust solutions.”

Ramos’ inventiveness is practical and effective. He is named on multiple patents for mechatronic inventions and consistently generates new ideas for each project he touches. As a euspen/DSPE-certified precision engineer (Bronze), he continues to broaden his expertise into adjacent areas, such as optics, showing a deliberate willingness to connect domains for better system outcomes.

Bouncing wafer stage concept

Since 2022, Ramos has contributed to ASML Research’s Mechatronics & Control group, working on wafer clamping and 3D integration – critical areas for future lithography systems. He actively engages internal customers and suppliers to ensure designs meet operational performance while remaining manufacturable. As leader of the Advanced Manufacturing and Design competence team, he is more than a knowledge source, the jury states. “He is a connector, building productive links between internal teams, academia and industry partners.”

A striking example of his approach is the ‘bouncing wafer stage’ concept he presented at the DSPE Conference on Precision Mechatronics 2025. Ramos proposed a clever means to boost stage efficiency by storing mechanical energy in buckled leafsprings and returning it during repetitive wafer scans. The idea is elegant because it begins with simple physics and leads to tangible system gains, according to the jury. “Importantly, he has not stopped at making a proposal: he is coaching students, collaborating with colleagues across disciplines to mature the concept, and contributing industrially relevant case studies to local education.”

Inspiring mentor

Beyond technical achievement, Ramos is an inspiring mentor. “Colleagues describe him as approachable and creative, someone who demonstrates a way of working that young engineers can emulate – analytical rigour paired with fearless, practical innovation. He trains others in methods, not just solutions, which multiplies his impact across teams and institutions.”

For all these reasons – the clarity of his first-principles thinking, his track record of practical invention, his leadership in cross-disciplinary collaboration, and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineers and contributing to the external network – the jury has decided to bestow the Ir. A. Davidson Award 2025 upon André Ramos.